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An Ideal Plant for 100 to 500 H. P. Upright Boilers and Compound Condensing Engines. 

A.—Coal Bin. B. B.—Boilers. C.—Condenser. E. E.—Engines. H.—Heater and Purifier. P.—Pump Feeding Boilers. 













































































































































































COMMON SENSE 


IN 

MAKING AND USING STEAM. 


FACTS FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF 


PROPRIETORS OF STEAM PLANTS, 


BY 


ONE WHO HAS PAID FOR HIS EXPERIENCE. 


fa 1 


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THE ROCHESTER ENGINEERING CO., 
ROCHESTER, N. Y. 

1891. 


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fb\s 

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Entered according- to Act of Congress, in the year 1891, 
By WILLIAM H. BAILEY, 





E. R. ANDREWS, 
PRINTER AND BOOKBINDER 
ROCHESTER, N. Y. 






PREFACE. 


BRIEF AND INTENDED TO BE READ FIRST. 


When seeking information upon any subject what 
does common sense dictate? Is it not that we should 
apply to those who have not only had the requisite 
opportunities for acquiring just the knowledge we 
desire, but also have the ability and disposition to 
impart it to others? In other words men of intelli¬ 
gent and capable minds, who have passed through 
the same experiences that we are called upon to pass 
through, and can give us the result of their observa¬ 
tions in a manner that we can understand. 

It therefore becomes proper for the author, in offer¬ 
ing to the world the results of his experience and 
observations in the line of Steam Engineering, to 
briefly state what have been his opportunities for 
acquiring practical knowledge and useful information 
on the subject. 

In the first place, he inherited a strong desire for 
mechanical knowledge and scientific research, and the 
greatest amusement of his childhood was watching 
the operation of machines and machinery. The days 
of his youth, when not in school, were largely spent 
in assisting to build, repair and operate mills and 
machinery, and, in after life, for upwards of a quarter 




4 Making and Using Steam. 

of a century, he has had more or less experience and 
success in the various positions of fireman, running 
engineer, constructing engineer, superintendent, owner 
and part owner of mills and manufacturing establish¬ 
ments, consulting engineer, selling agent and contrac¬ 
tor in Steam Enginery. 

During his more than thirty years of business 
experience he has had occasion to visit hundreds of 
Steam Plants in different parts of the country, and to 
make numerous tests of boilers, engines and other 
steam appliances, and has written many articles for 
the press, which have provoked very instructive dis¬ 
cussions among intelligent engineers. Having had 
so long and varied an experience, with a keen desire 
for true knowledge of everything pertaining to his 
business, he feels that, although he is still learning 
something every day and expects to during the rest 
of his natural life, he has already acquired some knowl¬ 
edge that may be of value to those of his fellow-men 
who have money invested, or are about to invest it, 
in the fundamental apparatus upon which nearly all 
of the great industries of the world depend. 

Thus knowing from personal experience the diffi¬ 
culties that surround those who are intending to invest 
money in Steam Apparatus, and also those who have 
it invested and realize the need of improvements, the 
author has thought that a book, treating the subject 
from the standpoint of a proprietor rather than that 
of an engineer, might be an acceptable guide in deter- 


Making and Using Steam . 


5 


mining which of the devices invented for every pur¬ 
pose is best calculated to answer the requirements of 
true economy under various circumstances. 

Printed testimonials and recommendations are 
never safe to rely upon, except so far as they state 
facts, for none would be printed unless very favorable, 
and they are generally given by those who have never 
made careful, scientific, or comparative tests, but, hav¬ 
ing through other influences made their selection and 
invested their money, take pride in assuring others 
that their judgment was good. 

Then again, that which has been successful and 
given perfect satisfaction in one case may not do so 
in every case. 

It will also be the aim of the author to describe 
the most simple and convenient methods for proprie¬ 
tors to ascertain at all times whether or not they are 
getting the best results from their money, expended 
in operating their Steam Plants, and for detecting and 
correcting defects and derangements in every part. 

Should anything in the following pages be found 
to be indefinite, inadequate, or not sufficiently clear to 
be understood by the reader, he will, if the owner of 
the book, be entitled to any further information that 
can be given by the author by letter, on addressing 
William Harrison Bailey, M. E., 

Rochester, N. Y 


INTRODUCTION. 


Notwithstanding the great improvements that have 
been made in all kinds of Steam Enginery by the 
ingenuity and skill of inventors and machinists, the 
average practice of steam engineering has not kept 
pace with them, and very few steam plants approach 
anywhere near the possibilities in efficiency and 
economy. 

It is doubtful if there is any other branch of 
mechanical art in which so much incompetency is 
displayed; and this is not altogether the fault of 
engineers and firemen, but is due to a want of proper 
information, good judgment, and sound common 
sense, in the purchasing, locating and arranging the 
apparatus, and general construction of steam plants 
to best adapt them to the purposes desired. 

When a person contemplates the erection of a 
building he generally consults and employs a profes¬ 
sional architect, who is qualified by education and 
experience, and paid liberally for his services in mak¬ 
ing drawings, specifications and contracts, and in 
looking after the interest of his clients in every way; 
this is good judgment and common sense. But in 
the erection of a steam plant, where there is occasion 
for far greater special education, skill and experience, 
the custom is different. , ■< 


6 



Making and Using Steam. 


7 


Mechanical engineers who are qualified to design 
and superintend the installation of a steam plant are 
seldom employed by purchasers, but are usually 
engaged as master mechanics or selling agents for 
manufacturers, and obliged to devote their energies 
and abilities to the procuring of orders for, or look¬ 
ing after the interest of their particular engine, boiler, 
heater, or pump, etc., whether best adapted to the 
place or not. 

As an instance of this, it may be mentioned that 
some of the ablest engineers in this country have 
been engaged for years in selling and erecting for 
manufacturing and electric lighting purposes, a pecu¬ 
liar type of engine that was designed for, and, as they 
well know, only suitable for, saw-mills and places 
where economy of fuel is of no account compared 
with the saving of engineers’ wages. 

The result is, almost invariably, that after a short 
time these engines are discarded and others more 
suitable substituted in their places, at great expense 
to the purchaser. It is astonishing to see the enor¬ 
mous waste of fuel that is constantly occurring in a 
great majority of all the electric light and power 
plants in this country. It is estimated that, on an 
average, they are consuming from five to seven 
pounds of coal per horse power per hour, when, if 
properly constructed and managed, they should run 
on from two to three pounds. This comes from 
entrusting the construction of the entire plants to 


Making and Using Steam . 


architects, electrical engineers or others who have 
very little knowledge and less experience in steam 
engineering, and whose only concern is to get their par¬ 
ticular systems in operation as quickly and as cheaply 
as possible, regardless of future economy and profit. 

Capitalists or companies who take the responsi¬ 
bility of installing a plant without the services of a 
competent consulting engineer, employed by them, 
with sufficient compensation to make him independ¬ 
ent of all commissions and fees from others, will gen¬ 
erally find, in the long run, that they have been “ penny 
wise- and pound foolish,” and that much of their capi - 
tal has been expended in correcting mistakes. 

The president of one of the largest electric light 
companies recently informed the author that his com¬ 
pany had been compelled to reconstruct their entire 
steam plant on account of the enormous coal bills 
eating up their profits, and it is safe to predict that 
at least one-half of all similar companies will do the 
same within the next five years or pay no dividends. 
If a plant that consumes only five tons per day of 
$2.00 coal can be reconstructed so as to consume but 
one-half of that amount, which is perfectly feasible 
in a great many cases, the saving will pay five per 
cent dividends pn a capital of $36,000.00, and where 
the coal costs more the saving will be proportionately 
larger. It is easy to see by this, that a competent 
mechanical engineer to superintend the construction 
of a plant could save many times his fees, not only 


Making and Using Steam. 


9 


in the construction account, but also in the expense 
account for years to come. 

In order to obtain the greatest success in con¬ 
structing a steam plant, a man must not only possess 
mechanical ability and intelligence to understand the 
requirements of the case, but he must have a large 
and varied experience in testing and observing the 
practical operation of all the different types and 
designs of the several parts that go to make up a 
complete plant; also, good judgment and experience 
to enable him to properly proportion and connect 
them for the service to be required. All this cannot 
be learned from books and drawings in an office like 
an architect's, but must be acquired by visiting and 
making tests at many different plants, running under 
different conditions, with different kinds of fuel and 
water, and varying draughts. A special investigation 
by such an expert, together with the guarantees of 
makers, properly written to contain discounts or for¬ 
feitures, in case of failures to fulfill stipulations, can 
hardly fail to secure the best and most economical 
apparatus for any purpose, and save to those who 
pay the bills an amount of money and annoyance 
little imagined by the uninitiated. It is not so much 
what a man knows, as what he thinks of at the right 
time, that makes him valuable; and,in order to think 
of the right thing at the right time, he must be in 
constant practice and familiar with the details of his 
business or profession. 


MAKING AND USING STEAM. 


Location. 


The first and one of the most important things to 
be considered in establishing a steam plant is the 
location. It is a popular delusion that steam-power 
can be produced with equal economy in any locality 
of a given city or town, and the principal consider¬ 
ation, in selecting a site for works of any kind, is 
therefore the price and availability of the land. 
Many electric light and power plants, as well as other 
works, might be earning much larger dividends, were 
they located where an abundant supply of water 
could be had free of expense for use with compound 
condensing engines, thereby saving from one-third to 
one-half of the fuel. 

In manufacturing plants, where exhaust steam can 
be utilized for heating buildings, the gain is not so 
great; yet there is no way in which exhaust steam 
can be used so advantageously as in creating a vacuum 
to increase the power of the engine, provided every¬ 
thing is properly arranged and proportioned. 

In many localities where none but hard mineral- 
impregnated water can be obtained for use in boilers, 
if surface condensers are used to retain all of the 

IO 




Making and Using Steam. 11 

water of condensation (distilled water), to be re¬ 
turned to the boilers, a very great saving is effected 
through prevention of incrustation, or “ scale,” as it is 
usually termed, and also in the preservation of a large 
portion of the heat expended in making steam. 

It is surprising that so few proprietors of water 
works avail themselves of this fact, when, by a slight 
change in the construction of their apparatus, they 
would always have the means at hand for keep¬ 
ing their boilers perfectly clean, free of cost, and 
thereby save not only a large part of their fuel, but 
also repairs and costs of boiler compounds, etc. 

Plants, already established in the hearts of large 
towns and cities, where it is impracticable to use 
condensing engines, may derive considerable revenue 
from their exhaust steam, through laying pipes in 
surrounding streets and heating buildings. 

The Holly system, introduced by the American 
District Steam Co., of Lockport, N. Y., has enabled 
many electric light companies to sell their exhaust 
steam to good advantage, which otherwise would be 
wasted “ on the desert air.” 

Another essential for all steam plants is railroad 
facilities; and, if they are so located that fuel may be 
dumped directly from the cars into the boiler-room, 
a much greater saving is often effected than the mere 
cost of teaming. 

It is a fact often lost sight of by steam users, that 
coal is liable to lose from ten to forty per cent, of its 


I 2 


Making and Using Steam. 

value by exposure to the weather after leaving the 
mine, and the fresher it is when bought, and the more 
carefully it is housed by the purchaser, the more 
effective it is in making steam. 


ARRANGEMENT OF parts. 


Next in importance to the location of a steam 
plant comes the arrangement of its several parts with 
a view to the greatest convenience for operating and 
repairs. 

They should be placed as near together as possible, 
and have a dust-tight partition between boilers and 
engines, and with room to get at all parts for examin¬ 
ation and cleaning. 

Every plant where great damage would occur by 
a brief stoppage, as in electric lighting, should have 
at least two boilers and two engines, that one may 
be laid off for cleaning and repairs without entirely 
stopping the works; but it is seldom necessary to 
have each boiler or engine large enough to do the 
whole work alone, for usually the work can be di¬ 
minished to some extent, and the boilers and engines 
may be forced temporarily without material injury. 
If two or more boilers discharge their steam into one 
main pipe, each should be provided with a check 
valve, so as to be run at all times independent^.. 




Making and Using Steam . 13 

Each should also have a separate damper to regulate 
its draught, according to the pressure of steam carried 
and condition of its fire, and to be closed when the 
boiler is not in use. The damper may be operated 
by hand, but it is far better to use one of the simple 
and reliable devices that are sold for this purpose, 
called Automatic Damper Regulators. 

When two or more engines are belted to one line 
of shafting, each receiving or driven pulley should be 
secured to the shaft by means of a friction clutch, so 
it may be thrown out instantly, without casting off 
the belt,— a difficult and dangerous performance. 

On another page will be found a plan for the ar¬ 
rangement of an ideal plant, having upright boilers 
and compound condensing engines. 

The custom among architects of designing build¬ 
ings that are to have steam in them, without regard 
to suitable provision for properly locating the appa¬ 
ratus, is one of the failings of that profession, and 
entails constant danger, annoyance and expense to 
the owner during the whole existence of the building. 

They seem to think that any place is good enough 
for boilers, and will stow them away in some dark, 
damp, ill-ventilated, subterranean cave, where it is 
impossible for any man to properly examine and 
clean them, or detect leaks and growing defects. 
But this is not the worst of it. Such places are 
both very unhealthy and uncomfortable to work in, 
and every fireman will leave his post and seek fresh 


14 Making and Using Steam. 

air at every possible opportunity, thereby neglecting 
his duty and endangering lives and property. 

It is for the interest of every owner of a steam 
plant to have every piece of apparatus so placed that 
it can be easily and frequently examined, for a slight 
defect, if not discovered and remedied early, may grow 
into a serious and expensive one to repair later on. 


BOILERS. 


The boiler is the fundamental apparatus of every 
steam plant, and requires the most careful consid¬ 
eration in purchasing, and the most intelligence, ex¬ 
perience and skill in its management. The three 
essentials of a good boiler are safety, durability and 
economy. 

The matter of safety is now generally provided for 
by official inspection by government inspectors, or 
by insurance companies’ experts; yet it is better to 
avoid all types of boilers that are liable to explode, 
especially as there is nothing to be gained by pur¬ 
chasing them, except perhaps a trifle in the first cost. 
In any event the engineer or fireman should be com¬ 
petent, and should be required to make a thorough 
examination of his boilers at least once in three 
months. The latest improved engines require at 
least ioo lbs. boiler pressure for greatest economy, 




Making and Using Steam. 15 

and boilers need to be proportionately stronger than 
formerly. 

The U. S. Government standard for marine boilers 
is a factor of safety of six ; that is, every boiler shall 
be calculated to withstand a bursting strain of six 
times that for which the safety valve is set While 
it is not good practice to strain a boiler by testing it 
up to that standard, it is well to be certain that the 
materials and manner of construction will warrant it 
If a boiler explodes when so constructed, it is due 
to gross carelessness or unavoidable accident, against 
which there can be made no provision except the 
exclusive use of such types of water-tube boilers as 
cannot be exploded as a whole, but only in part, 
thereby reducing to a minimum all damage resulting 
from carelessness or accident 

The durability of a boiler depends, first, upon its 
design, its materials and workmanship, and afterwards 
upon the quality of water used, and the management 
of the fire to prevent overheating and sudden changes 
of temperature. 

A well constructed boiler, with pure soft water and 
good management, will last longer in constant use, 
night and day, than if fired up intermittently and 
cooled off frequently. A quarter of a century is not 
a remarkable age for a good boiler under the best 
conditions, but no boiler made up of pipes with 
screw joints exposed to the fire, or having long tubes 
fastened rigidly at both ends, whereby unequal ex- 


16 Making and Using Steam. 

pansion and contraction can cause leaks, can ever be 
very durable, except with the greatest care and fre¬ 
quent repairs. 

The third and most essential feature of a good 
boiler, and the one that generally gives the purchaser 
the greatest anxiety, is its economical use of fuel. 

It is on this point that doctors disagree as to the 
form or type of boiler best calculated to produce the 
desired result under varying and special circumstances; 
but common-sense, as well as experience, teaches that 
the one acting most in accordance with natural laws 
must be the most successful, for resistance to Nature's 
laws is always a waste of energy. 

Heat, the result of combustion, naturally moves 
straight upward, and to deflect it several feet from its 
natural course, with sufficient momentum to produce 
good combustion, as under a horizontal boiler, requires 
force artificially applied to create a draught. 

This force may be obtained either by erecting tall 
chimney-stacks to deliver the hot gases and products 
of combustion into a rarified or lighter atmosphere, 
and thus allow the denser air at the bottom to rush in 
through the fire to supply the deficiency, or by forcing 
air through the fire by means of fans or blowers. 

In either case, it is artificial force, requiring the 
combustion of fuel to maintain it, in addition to the 
cost of stack or blower, and a boiler requiring this 
must necessarily be less economical than one so 
designed and proportioned as to absorb all that is 


Making and Using Steam. 


17 


possible of the heat arising naturally from the fire, 
without obstructing the passage of smoke and gases 
so as to retard combustion. 

During the past eight or ten years a certain type 
of boiler, embodying this principle in several different 
designs, has been developed and perfected, and is now 
rapidly coming into favor with the most enterprising 
and scientific steam users of this country. 

These boilers have been put upon the market by 
different makers under different names, but they are 
generally known as the Porcupine type, and have 
been found by numerous carefully'conducted tests, to 
make a considerable saving of fuel over every other 
type, and when properly constructed, they have proved 
more durable and easier to manage and keep clean 
than others. 

The distinctive features of this type of boilers is 
the central stand pipe, containing a large solid body 
of water, surrounded near its base by the fire, and 
above the fire, short tubes project, “like quills upon 
the fretful porcupine,” directly into and across the 
ascending current of flame and hot gases, thus allow¬ 
ing the water contained in these tubes to absorb the 
greatest amount of heat in the most natural and effec¬ 
tive manner. Like the Corliss engine it is a step in 
advance, and will be recognized as such and be built 
by all boiler makers as soon as its various patents 
expire. 

It is not so much the amount of heating surface 


18 Making and Using Steam. 

that a boiler presents to the caloric, or heat of the 
fire, as it is the position in which it is presented. 
Numerous experiments have proved that a plate of 
metal or a tube will absorb in a given time more than 
four times the amount of heat if held at right angles, 
or directly across a current of flame or hot gases, than 
it will if held vertical or parallel with it. It is for this 
reason that some boilers require much less heating 
surface per H. P., or amount of water evaporated, 
than others, and are more compact and less expensive 
to build. The rating of boilers according to the 
amount of heating surface, or area of grate surface, 
“ cuts no figure ” whatever, for the H. P. of a boiler 
depends entirely upon the quantity of water it is cap¬ 
able of evaporating into dry steam per hour. 

The term “ Horse power,” which is abbreviated in 
writing to H. P., means nothing definite in speaking 
of boilers, except a unit for comparison between the 
different sizes, and every boiler maker is at liberty to 
select his own standard. * But the one now gener¬ 
ally adopted by the best boiler makers is the evapor¬ 
ation of thirty pounds of water per hour into dry 
steam from and at the boiling point, under the atmos¬ 
pheric pressure of the sea level: that is to say,— if 
the feed water is put into a boiler below the temper- 

*Note. —The Committee of Judges at the Centennial Exposition (1876), 
adopted as a unit for comparison “ The evaporation of 30 lbs. of water into 
dry steam per hour, from feed water at 100 0 Fahrenheit, and under a pressure 
of 70 lbs. per square inch by steam gauge.” This is equivalent to 34^ lbs- 
from and at 212 0 Fahrenheit. 


!9 


Making and Using Steam . 

ature of 212 ° F. (boiling point in an open vessel), 
the boiler is credited with the amount of heat required 
to bring it up to that temperature, and if the steam 
gauge indicates a certain pressure, the boiler is cred¬ 
ited with the proportion of heat required to produce 
that pressure. The proportionate amount of fuel 
expended to produce this heat has been ascertained 
by numerous careful scientific tests. 

It is necessary to make these allowances in order 
to reach a definite standard of comparison between 
boilers, as no two can be run under exactly similar 
conditions, and this standard is called “ from and 
at 212 °” It really reduces the performances of a 
boiler to the amount of what is technically termed 
“ latent heat,” which it absorbs or transmits from the 
fire into the water. 

The term “latent heat” means simply quantity that 
is absorbed at a given temperature. 

A thermometer measures only temperature or 
quality , which is technically termed “ sensible heat,” 
and which reaches a limit in accordance with the 
pressure in a boiler, before steam begins to form. 

It is a very simple matter to test the capacity and 
economy of a boiler with sufficient accuracy, by 
weighing every barrow of coal as it is wheeled to the 
furnace, and'keeping a daily record thereof, and by 
weighing the ashes and unconsumed refuse daily;, 
also placing in the feed-water pipe a reliable water 
meter, and taking a daily reading of the number of 


20 Making and Using Steam . 

cubic feet at the same hour that the net weight of 
coal is ascertained. 

Multiplying the number of cubic feet recorded by 
the water meter by sixty-two and one-half, gives the 
number of pounds of water that have been evapora¬ 
ted, at the actual temperature as shown by a ther¬ 
mometer, which must be changed to the standard 
temperature of 212° F., by adding the required per¬ 
centage as an equivalent for the heat expended in 
raising the temperature from the actual to the stand¬ 
ard, and also by producing the pressure indicated by 
the steam gauge. (See rule on page 46 for explana¬ 
tion.) 

After making this correction or adjustment of 
figures, the H. P. is ascertained by dividing the total 
by the number of hours, and that quotient by thirty, 
and the economy is ascertained by dividing the num¬ 
ber of pounds of water by the number of pounds of 
coal. 

No boiler should ever be forced beyond its capacity 
to make dry steam, for entrained water carried away 
with the steam is not only liable to damage the 
engine, but it is a great detriment to the efficiency 
of the steam for any purpose. 

On the other hand, super-heated, or more than dry 
steam, is superior in efficiency and more valuable, 
either in an engine or for heating purposes, therefore 
the quality of steam made by a boiler is of the great¬ 
est importance. 


Making and Using Steam. 21 

To readily ascertain the quality of steam, without 
making a calorimeter test, insert a short half-inch 
nipple with valve into the under side of the steam 
pipe, near the boiler, and screw into the valve a plug, 
having a small crease filed across its threads. On 
opening the valve, a small jet will appear, which to 
the practiced eye, will instantly determine whether 
the steam is dry, wet, or super-heated. If the steam 
is dry, it will present a biuish, white appearance; if 
wet, a milk white; and if super-heated, an almost 
invisible sky-blue. 

A common, horizontal, return tubular boiler of 
good make, if properly handled and fired, should 
evaporate into dry steam of 80 lbs. pressure, when 
running at its rated capacity, about 8 lbs. of water 
from the average summer temperature (6o° F.), for 
every pound of coal (ashes deducted) that is burned. 

An improved water tube boiler should evaporate 
about nine lbs., and an upright boiler of the latest 
improved type about ten lbs. Or if reduced to the 
standard of “from an at 212 0 , as described above, by 
use of table on page 46, the duty should be respect¬ 
ively about nine, ten, and eleven lbs. of water per 
pound of combustible. 

Unless a fireman can obtain these results under 
reasonably good conditions, he should be suspected 
of laziness or incompetency, provided his boilers are 
clean and free from incrustation or scale. 

A boiler should never be “ blown off” under pres- 


22 Making and Using Steam. 

sure, but allowed to cool with a full quantity of water 
in it, in order to keep the sediment soft, so that it 
may be washed out with a hose as soon as the boiler 
is empty. 

If a boiler is emptied % while hot, all of the soft 
sedimentary deposit will become baked on to the 
iron. It is an excellent thing to pump into a boiler 
a large quantity of the solution of sal soda, just 
before cooling it off for the purpose of cleaning. If 
on examination of a boiler internally, it is found that 
corrosion, or pitting, is taking place, a few gallons of 
crude petroleum oil should be poured or pumpecl 
into it before filling it with water, and the feed water 
should be treated with carbonate of soda, to neutral¬ 
ize acid. 


FUrNaces aNd fUeLs. 


The subject of dimensions and construction of ordi¬ 
nary furnaces, grates and settings, concerns the boiler 
maker who is interested to obtain for his boiler the 
best results, and therefore may properly be omitted 
here. 

But there are numerous patented grates, furnaces, 
and smokeless settings for boilers, which are far su¬ 
perior to the ordinary, that boiler makers do not care 
to recommend for fear they will be required to furnish 




Making and Using Steam . 23 

them and be held responsible for their performance, 
without any extra compensation. 

Some of the devices are really valuable for their 
simple and scientific methods of regulating the ad¬ 
mission of air in correct proportion to secure good 
combustion, and are worthy of careful investigation, 
especially mechanical stokers, which admit of the 
profitable use of coal and coke dust and screenings, 
and other cheap fuels, without waste or smoke nui¬ 
sance. The action of a mechanical stoker is to feed 
in gradually and constantly, by machinery, just the 
right quantity of fuel to maintain perfect combustion, 
and when properly adjusted they are a great success. 
Among the many patent shaking or movable grates 
in use, there are a few that have proved very success¬ 
ful on account of their simple and common-sense 
construction. 

The one most extensively adopted by the largest 
firms of this country for use under horizontal boilers, 
is composed simply of small, straight, three-sided, steel 
bars, extending through the boiler fronts and back to 
the bridge wall, supported by cross bearers, each bar 
being revolved independently by a wrench applied to 
the projecting end, without opening the furnace doors 
to clean the fires. 

This form of bar was patented, in combination with 
a most excellent feed-door, by an expert mechanic 
with very large experience, who has made the com¬ 
bustion of fuels his study for many years. 


24 


Making and Using Steam . 


Fires should never be regulated entirely by the 
amount of air admitted beneath the grate, nor by the 
amount of coal shoveled into the furnace, but by air 
ducts, terminating on top of the fuel, and above all a 
damper in the smoke flue, regulated automatically by 
the pressure of steam carried in the boiler. Any good 
damper regulator will repay its cost many times in 
the saving of fuel and repairs to the furnaces. Excel¬ 
lent ones can be purchased for $75 or $100, and it is 
money well expended. 

The construction of a furnace, including the style 
of grates, should, of course, be adapted to the kind of 
fuel to be burned, although to some extent, openings 
for the admission of air may be made adjustable, so 
that, by careful observation and experimenting, a fire¬ 
man may burn several different kinds of fuel in the 
same furnace economically. 

The question as to the best kind of coal or other 
fuel to be used in any particular plant is very largely 
a commercial one, depending upon the cost of each 
kind delivered at the plant. 

When the cost of different kinds is known, com¬ 
parative trials will easily determine the economy, and 
it will be found that, the difference in value of the 
different lots of coal depends mostly on the difference 
in amount of water or moisture they contain, together 
with the difference in the quantity of smoke and car¬ 
bonic oxide escaping from the stack, and the weight 
of ashes, clinker, and unconsumed refuse. The pre- 


25 


Making and Using Steam. 

vention of smoke and clinker should be the chief 
study of the fireman, and the nearer he can approach 
to periect combustion of the cheaper grades of coal, 
the more valuable his services. 

The use of oil and gas as fuels in making steam 
depends entirely upon their relative cost, as compared 
with coals, and the careful adjustment of the apparatus, 
for there are several excellent devices made for usine 
them with safety and convenience. In the oil and 
natural gas regions these are both used extensively, 
and trials are constantly being made in all parts of 
the country with varying results, depending on the 
cost at each particular plant. 

In order to appreciate the advantage of a good 
furnace and skillful firing, it is only necessary to re¬ 
member that one pound of pure carbon (combustible 
of good coal, coke and charcoal) requires for perfect 
combustion 2 2 / 2> lbs. of oxygen or about 12 lbs. of air 
to be brought in contact with it, and it will then pro¬ 
duce 14,500 units of heat, and evaporate about 15 lbs. 
of water from and at 212 0 Fahr. Of course this result 
can only be approximated in actual practice. 

But if only one-half this quantity 1 of air is brought 
in contact with it, the product of combustion will be 
“ carbonic oxide,” instead of “ carbonic acid,” and only 
4452 heat units will be evolved, and only about 4^ 
lbs. of water can be evaporated. Thus it will be seen 
that more than two-thirds of the fuel used in making 


26 


Making and Using Steam. 


steam may be wasted under the boiler alone, by un¬ 
skillful firing. 

See table on page 50 for amount of air required for 
different combustibles to produce perfect combustion, 
and also the heat produced, and amount of water 
theoretically possible to convert into steam. 


FEED-WATER aNd apparatus. 


Of equal importance to the management of the 
fire is the treatment of the water in order to make 
steam economically in any boiler, and very often the 
latter is the more difficult of the two. 

If a plant is located where a supply of good, clean, 
soft water can be had at all times, it is a simple matter 
to procure a good heater, pump and injector, which 
is all the apparatus needed; but if, as is the case with 
a great majority of plants, none but hard, mineral- 
impregnated water can be had, some kind of purifying 
apparatus is economical to use, for even a very thin 
scale or incrustation of the tubes of a boiler will 
neutralize the effect of a large portion of the heat and 
consequently require a much larger amount of fuel 
to do the same work. 

The exhaust steam from a non-condensing engine 
always has a temperature of 212 0 or above, and retains 
from 80 to 90 per cent, of all the heat it contained 




Making and Using Steam . 27 

when in the boiler, and consequently is much too 
valuable to be wasted. 

The first use of it to be made is to pass it through 
a feed-water heater, which should contain at least one 
square foot of heating surface for each H. P. of the 
boilers, so arranged as to be easily cleaned and repaired. 
Exhaust steam in such a heater should, if the heater 
is properly constructed, raise the temperature of a 
quantity of water equal to that from which the steam 
was made from near the freezing point (32° F.) to 
the boiling point (212 0 F.), with a loss by condensa¬ 
tion of only one-fifth, and the other four-fifths can be 
utilized for heating buildings or other purposes. 

If a condensing engine is used, the steam should 
pass through the heater into the condenser, in which 
case the creating of a vacuum will reduce the tem¬ 
perature to about 150° F. and consume all of the 
.steam. 

There are two general classes of heaters. Those 
in which the feed-water mingles with the steam are 
called “open heaters,” and those in which the feed- 
water passes through pipes surrounded by steam, or 
the steam passes through pipes surrounded by water, 
are called “ closed heaters.” The open heater is less 
expensive, and, if nothing but pure mineral oil or 
lubricating compound is used in the engine cylinders, 
is generally the best, especially if the water is hard, 
as that portion of the steam that condenses serves to 
soften the water and prevent to greater or less extent, 


28 Making and Using Steam. 

the deposit of “ scale ” in the boilers. This is also a 
convenient place to use chemicals or “ boiler com¬ 
pounds ” when required. 

If animal or fish or vegetable oil is used in cylinder 
lubrication, it will pass with the water from an “ open 
heater” into the boilers, and form with the mineral 
substances a kind of putty, which adheres to the iron, 
thereby preventing the water from coming in contact 
with it to protect it from burning. 

For this reason “closed heaters” have come into 
general use, although not as good in other respects. 
But now that improvements in the manufacture of 
pure mineral oils for cylinders precludes all necessity 
for the use of any other, and as this bulging and 
cracking of the iron, caused by the putty, only occurs 
in horizontal cylinders, or fire tube boilers, which are 
now rapidly going out of fashion, the open heater 
will be found preferable in many cases. 

The most simple, convenient, and practicable feed- 
water apparatus for ordinary purposes is an open 
heater and hot-water pump combined, with the addi¬ 
tional safeguard of a good injector, to be used only 
in emergencies. A double-acting, or triplex, power 
pump is most economical, and should have a capacity 
of one cubic foot (j}£ gal.) of water per H. P. of 
the boiler, per hour. 

Where water is very bad, an additional apparatus: 
for purifying with live steam under boiler pressure is 
often a very economical and satisfactory device. 


Making and Using Steam . 29 

There are several such on the market, for which is 
claimed perfect success in purifying any kind of 
water; but the first responsible maker, who will guar¬ 
antee in writing to keep boilers perfectly clean for a 
three-months’ run, or “ no pay,” is the man to deal 
with, provided he does not charge too much, and 
does not require a waste of steam. 

The mineral substances that are held in solution 
by water, and cause “ scale ” or incrustation of boilers, 
are of two general classes: the “ sulphates ” and “ car¬ 
bonates,” of which lime and magnesia predominate 
in nearly all of the waters available for use in boilers, 
.and generally to a much greater extent in well waters 
than in river and lake waters. In many sections of 
this country there is little else than carbonate of lime 
in the water, and this is easily removed by precipita¬ 
tion in a good exhaust steam feed-water heater that 
raises the temperature to the boiling point, by the 
addition of a little sal soda. But where sulphates of 
lime and magnesia exist, it will be necessary to resort 
to a live steam purifier, raising the temperature to at 
least 250° F. (30 lbs. boiler pressure) and bringing 
every particle of the water in contact with filtering 
surfaces, to which the mineral matter will adhere. In 
addition to exhaust steam, there is another source of 
heat that may be utilized for heating feed-water, and 
that is the waste heat, passing off through the smoke 
flues, after leaving the boilers, and as this never can 
be reduced below the temperature of the boiler, and 


30 Making and Using Steam. 

is often more than ioo° above — probably in the 
average of cases from 400° to 500°—it is evident that, 
if the feed-water is passed through coils of pipe, or 
other device placed in the flues, some portion of this 
heat will be absorbed and a saving of fuel effected. 

There are several inventions for this purpose, that 
have proved very profitable, especially wnere con¬ 
densing engines are used. 


boiLer compounds, skimmers aNd auto¬ 
matic ATTACHMENTS. 


Chemical compounds are generally humbugs, for 
the simple reason that all mineral or scale producing 
substances in water that enter a boiler, must neces¬ 
sarily remain there and accumulate for a time, until 
the boiler can be blown off and cleaned, and all that 
is possible for chemicals to do is to change the charac¬ 
ter of the deposit, and prevent it from forming a hard, 
impenetrable scale. But, as the condition of the 
water is constantly changing with the weather and 
seasons, it is a never-ending experiment to try and 
find just the right compound to keep a boiler free 
from scale, if bad water is allowed to enter it. It is 
therefore always better to purify water before putting 
it into the boilers. 

There are several different inventions for placing 




Making and Using Steam . 31 

skimmers in boilers to remove impurities that rise to* 
the surface, and deposit them in a receptacle outside,, 
while the boiler is in action ; also, surface and bottom 
blow off devices for frequent use, but the benefit de¬ 
rived from all such things is necessarily very limited,, 
from the fact that only a small portion of the water 
can be brought in contact with them ; yet they are 
valuable to the extent of the amount of impurities 
they remove, and often worth trying. 

A very simple and accurate test of the condition 
of water before and after treatment, is to weigh a 
gallon and evaporate it in any convenient vessel, and 
then weigh the dry, solid matter that remains. In 
this way the effect of every device for purifying feed- 
water may be approximately determined at any time 
without waiting to blow off boilers to ascertain, for, 
if by drawing a gallon out of a boiler and evaporating 
it, no sediment remains, it is positive evidence there 
is none in the boiler, and if there should be sediment 
remaining, it will indicate something of the amount 
and character of that in the boiler. 

High and Low Water Alarms,-Automatic Boiler 
Feeding Devices, Pressure. Gauges, and all other 
attachments to boilers should be very thoroughly 
examined and tested for a long time before purchas¬ 
ing, to be sure that they are thoroughly reliable and 
trustworthy, for firemen naturally depend upon them 
when in use, and if they are complicated in their con¬ 
struction, and liable to get out of order, as many of 


32 


Making and Using Steam. 


them are, they are a source of great danger, but if 
simple in construction, strong and reliable in their 
action, as a few of them are, they are better to depend 
on than the human mind. A good Recording Gauge 
is an excellent check upon firemen, and often saves 
fuel and repairs. This is an instrument that may be 
placed in the office of any establishment, at any dis¬ 
tance from the boiler room, and being connected with 
the boilers by a small pipe, is entirely beyond the 
control or interference of engineers or firemen, and 
records the pressure that is in the boilers at all hours 
of the day and night. 


engines. 


The boiler having produced the steam, it becomes 
the duty of the engine to use it, and the one should 
never be confounded with the other, or held respon¬ 
sible for the action of the other, any more than a 
cloth manufacturer should be held responsible for the 
misfits of the tailor. 

Every engine should be supplied with dry steam, 
and, if boilers have to be forced beyond their capacity 
to make dry steam, or the engine is located too far 
from the boilers, so that condensation takes place, a 
separator should be placed in the pipe near the engine, 




Making and Using Steam . 


33 

to remove from the steam all entrained water, and 
water of condensation, and return it to the boilers. 

There are two general classes of stationary engines, 
called “ High speed” and “ Low speed,” according to 
the number of revolutions they are designed to make 
per minute. 

Both of these are built with one cylinder, or two, 
and if with two, they are called “Compound engines,” 
and the second cylinder receives the steam from the 
first, and has a much larger area, which, with a 
condenser attached, affords a great increase of power 
with the same steam. 

In some of the largest low speed engines, the 
steam is worked through three cylinders, and they 
are called “ triple compound,” or “ triple expansion ” 
engines, and a slight economy is gained in the matter 
of condensation over the compounds. High speed 
engines, as a general thing, are not as economical in 
the use of steam as low speed, but a given amount of 
power can be got into less space, and at less cost of 
construction. For this reason, and from the fact that 
Ihey are more sensitive to their governing devices, 
they have found great favor with electrical construc¬ 
tion companies, who are not generally interested in 
the future economy of maintaining and operating the 
plants which they install. 

In steam enginery, like everything else in this 
world, the most expensive is usually the most profit¬ 
able in the long run. 

3 


34 


Making and Using Steam. 


The term “ horse power,” abbreviated in writing to 
H. P., is the unit of power used in all mechanical 
calculations, and means that force required to lift 
33,000 lbs. avordupois one foot high in one minute 
of time, and an indicated horse power (I. H. P.) of 
an engine is the average, or mean effective pressure 
of steam on the area in square inches of the piston, 
multiplied by the number of feet the piston travels 
in one minute, and that product divided by 33,000. 

The average, or mean effective pressure of steam 
per square inch during the length of stroke, is ascer¬ 
tained by an instrument called an indicator, with 
which every competent engineer is familiar, and 
should be required to take cards from his engine 
every day and develop them into a record of the H. 
P. constantly delivered, and also to determine whether 
or not the engine is taking and using steam to the 
best advantage. 

These “ indicator cards ” should be preserved, and 
occasionally examined by the builder of the engine or an 
expert engineer, who will know how to adjust the parts 
or repair the engine if anything appears to be wrong. 

This I. H. P. of an engine depends not only upon 
the size, but also upon the pressure and quality of 
steam given to it, the point of cut-off, and the speed at 
which it is run, and is therefore no definite indication 
of its value, or cost of maintaining and running it. 

The usual test of an engine’s economy is the 
amount of dry steam required per I. H. P. with its 


Making and Using Steam . 


35 


most economical load, which load should be weighed 
by means of a dynamometer, or brake applied to its 
belt wheel. A simple, high speed, non-condensing 
engine should not consume more than the dry steam 
from 30 to 32 lbs. of water per I. H. P. per hour, and 
a compound high speed, with condenser attached, not 
over 18 to 20 lbs. 

A simple or plain Corliss, or other first class, low 
speed engine, should run with the dry steam made 
from 22 to 25 lbs. water per I. H. P. per hour, and if a 
compound with condenser, 14 to 16 lbs. is sufficient. 

Some engine builders make it a rule to test every 
engine before it leaves the shop, by applying the 
Prony brake, and are able to guarantee the actual H. 
P. under various pressures of steam, points of cut-off, 
and revolutions per minute, and it would be well for 
every purchaser to exact such guarantees, and see that 
they are fulfilled after the engine has been running 
for, at least, thirty days on his own premises, before 
paying the bill. 

The .H. P. of a non-condensing engine may be 
increased about one-third at any time by the attach¬ 
ment of a condenser, which creates a vacuum, or, in 
other words, removes the resistance of the atmosphere 
on one end of the piston, while the steam is pushing 
on the other end, being equivalent to increasing the 
mean effective pressure of the steam to the amount 
of the vacuum maintained — usually T3 to 14 lbs. per 
square inch. 


36 Making and Using Steam. 

In a compound engine the vacuum acts on the 
larger area of the second cylinder, and, if the engine is 
properly constructed and adapted to regular uniform 
duty, the increase of power will average more than 
50 per cent., with but very little more steam. 

The use of a condenser requires from 27 to 30 
times the amount of water that is required to feed 
the boilers, and where the use of this quantity can be 
had free of expense, it will generally pay, otherwise 
the exhaust steam may be used more profitably in 
heating the feed-water to a higher temperature, and 
for other purposes. 

But in purchasing an engine for any particular 
plant, no general rule can be followed ; for, paradoxi¬ 
cal as it may seem, the best is not always the best. 

The whole purpose for which steam is to be used 
throughout the entire establishment should be con¬ 
sidered, and if a larger quantity is to be used for 
heating purposes than for power, it will not be good 
judgment and true economy to spend a large sum for 
an expensive, economical type of engine, when the 
exhaust steam from a cheaper one is just as valuable 
as live steam, drawn directly from the boilers. 

In a great many works where steam is used for 
heating buildings, boiling liquors, and drying pur¬ 
poses, an engine that requires 30 lbs. of steam per H. 
P. per hour, is better than one that requires but 15 
lbs., for the simple reason that it takes no more heat 
from the steam to work it through an engine than it’ 


Making and Using Steam. 37 

does to pass it through a reducing valve, which is 
now considered the best practice in steam heating, 
and the loss by condensation is but a trifle more, 
while the cheaper engine, if well built, will be less 
complicated and more durable, and require less atten¬ 
tion. In all plants where the exhaust steam can be 
entirely utilized, the aim should be to secure the 
greatest economy in the apparatus for generating 
steam — boilers, furnaces, and heaters — and also in 
the distribution and application of heat to the pur¬ 
poses intended, aside from the power. 

In all cases simplicity of design and good, true, 
strong, and smooth work in all parts of an engine are 
important points, for in many engines what little 
economy is gained by complicated movements and 
adjustments, is more than counter-balanced by the 
liability to wear and get out of order. One of the 
most simple, and for obvious reasons, desirable im¬ 
provements, adopted by a few of the.best builders, is 
the placing of the steam chest directly underneath 
the cylinder, thus preventing all water from entering. 


LUBRICANTS and lubricators. 


Probably in no other article connected with steam 
engineering, is there so great imposition practiced, as 
in the manufacture and sale of cylinder or engine 




38 Making and Using Steam . 

oils, and proprietors of steam plants are paying from 
60 cents to $1.00 per gallon for oils that cost from 15 
to 20 cents to manufacture, and which, or equally as 
good, can be obtained by consumers in small quanti¬ 
ties for less than half the usual prices, by a little 
investigation of the subject. 

The very best, filtered, petroleum, cylinder oil stock, 
can be had of the refiners from 25 to 30 cents, and 
there can be nothing added to it, or otherwise pro¬ 
duced, that is better for use in engines. Many of the 
largest railroad companies, who have hundreds of 
locomotive, marine, and stationary engines in use, 
have long used nothing but these oils in their cylin¬ 
ders. Lubricating oils for engines are like patent 
medicines for the human system, their effectiveness 
depends largely upon advertising and the imagination 
of the consumer. 

The author does not expect that the numerous oil 
mixers and salesmen, who are making from 100 to 
300 per cent, profits, or the large class of dishonest 
engineers, who are receiving a bonus for every barrel 
of oil they use, will quite agree with him in making 
these statements, but nevertheless they are true, and 
he is writing for the benefit of those who have to pay 
the bills. 

Undoubtedly the best method of lubricating engine 
cylinders is that which has been in use for a few years 
in many of the large steamers running out of New 
York. 


39 


Making and Using Steam . 

It apparently consists of plumbago and other min¬ 
eral substances, mixed and formed into small balls 
that will dissolve gradually in a common, plain oil 
cup. The author has not seen it in use to any great 
extent in stationary engines, probably for the reason 
that it will not flow freely in sight-feed lubricators, 
but all who have used it, speak in the highest terms 
of the condition of their cylinders, and cannot be 
induced to use any other. 

Floated plumbago is one of the best lubricants 
wherever it can be applied, and for journals and all 
bearings that are liable to heat, there is nothing equal 
to it. 

A metallurgist of Chicago has discovered a method 
of mixing plumbago with babbitt metal, so that it 
will not separate in remelting, and any engineer can 
babbitt boxes with it and have no danger of heating, 
with much less oiling than usual. This metal has 
been made and sold for several years for use in the 
most trying places, but being a secret not patentable, 
its manufacture is confined to the inventor himself, 
and limited to his personal ability to produce it, and, 
as it commands a high price, it has not become widely 
known ; yet, like every other remarkably good thing, 
it has numerous imitations, and those in the business 
who do not care to imitate it, pronounce it a humbug, 
and claim to have something better. 


40 


Making and Using Steam. 


e|\Igi|\Ieers aNd firemen. 


The name “ engineer ” does not properly belong to 
any one connected with the running of an ordinary 
stationary steam plant. 

Every establishment should have a fireman and a 
machinist, and the fireman should be the better man,, 
and receive as good, if not better, pay; for the greatest 
intelligence, skill, and experience is required in the 
care and management of the boilers, and the use of 
fuel to the best advantage under the ever varying 
conditions and draughts; to know what thickness of 
fuel to carry on the grates to correspond to the kind 
of fuel and the strength of draught from day to day ; 
also in keeping boilers clean at all times, as the quality 
and temperature of water changes from warm to cold* 
and from wet to dry seasons. 

It is in the boiler-room that the greatest saving of 
expense can be made by constant watchfulness and 
skill, and a fireman should be allowed, in addition to 
his regular wages, one-half of all he can save by his 
special attention and study. 

Many striking examples of the benefit that might 
be derived from such a policy have come to the 
knowledge of the author. In one instance, the in¬ 
ventor of a so-called “smoke-burning device ” reset a 
boiler, in accordance with his design, for trial, in a 
large manufacturing establishment, and, understand- 



4i 


Making and Using Steam. 

ing the art of firing, he instructed the fireman how to 
fire his boiler, and also paid him a liberal bonus 
weekly to keep him interested to do his very best. 
The consequence was, that at the end of six months 
the proprietor of the establishment gave a certificate 
that the device had made a saving in his coal bills of 
more than forty per cent, compared with the corres¬ 
ponding six months of the year previous, and that the 
quantity of steam used had increased. 

In another instance, a similar device was placed 
under one of a battery of boilers, and fired by the 
inventor’s own expert fireman, while an adjoining 
boiler exactly like it was fired under the direction 
of the proprietor, who was a practical and scientific 
engineer, and the result showed the “smoke burner” 
to be a detriment, and made a loss instead of a saving 
in fuel. 

The admission of too much air into the combus¬ 
tion chamber through flues in the brick work will 
deaden the effect of the heat, and must be regulated 
with great skill, decreasing the amount as the fresh 
fuel becomes incandescent. 

A competent man can save many times the amount 
of an ordinary fireman’s wages, and therefore brains 
as well as muscle should handle the shovel. 

With the engine the case is different, for when 
once properly adjusted, its action is entirely auto¬ 
matic, and needs only care to keep it well lubricated 
and see that nothing works loose about it, and careful 


42 


Making and Using Steam. 


men are as often found without much intelligence, 
skill, or experience, as with. 

The intelligence, skill, and experience connected 
with an engine belongs to the builder and not to the 
runner. 

If the engine breaks or wears out in any part, it 
requires the services of a machinist, and if the estab¬ 
lishment is large enough to require one for other 
purposes, the engine-room is a good place for him, 
when not otherwise engaged, to examine the parts of 
the engine and see that nothing is working loose or 
wearing out; but the fireman should have charge of 
the running of the plant, and be the responsible head, 
with as many assistants as the situation requires, and 
he should be given an interest in the results of his 
efforts, and study to save fuel and repairs. 

Of course, in very large establishments, it is best 
to have a master mechanic, or chief-engineer, whose 
duty it is to take the entire charge of the power and 
shafting, and who should be a competent and expe¬ 
rienced mechanical engineer, and be vested with 
authority over all subordinates, and held responsible 
for everything, and in that case the above remarks 
will apply to the chief fireman all the same. 

The old and still too prevalent custom of employ¬ 
ing a high-priced “engineer” to sit around the engine- 
room, reading and smoking, while a low-priced “fire¬ 
man ” is wasting fuel and injuring the most vulnerable 
apparatus in the whole establishment, is absurd and 


43 


Making and Using Steam. 

expensive. 1 he oiling and cleaning of an engine, 
and watching its operation to see that nothing gets 
out of place, can just as well be done by a young 
apprentice, who is ambitious to learn about ati engine, 
and afterwards be advanced to the more important 
position of Fireman. 

In employing men to take charge of steam plants, 
it is human nature we have to deal with, and fre¬ 
quently there is more danger of getting a man who 
knows too much, than one who does not know enough. 

Proprietors of stationary plants are apt to think 
that an engineer who holds a certificate from govern¬ 
ment inspectors, or has held a position in the navy, 
or has run a locomotive and claims to know all about 
steam, is the man they want, but a greater mistake 
can hardly be made, for such qualifications and expe¬ 
rience have but little bearing upon firing and operating 
a stationary plant, and fill the mind of the possessor 
with conceit and actually prevent him from learning. 


contracts aNd guarantees. 

It is a most singular fact that the average business 
man, who has sometimes been caught by the misrep¬ 
resentations of salesmen, and purchased something 
that has not proved satisfactory, will invariably be¬ 
come very suspicious of everybody and everything. 




44 


Making and Using Steam. 


He will lay aside his own judgment and common- 
sense, and often be influenced by the opinions of 
incompetent or interested parties, because they hap¬ 
pen to be his personal friends, instead of investigating 
matters personally and relying upon his own judg¬ 
ment, or that of experts employed by him, together 
with guarantees of makers. 

Or, if he depend upon makers’ guarantees, how- : 
ever carefully worded and written in the contract,, 
even by his attorney, he will generally waive all his 
rights by his own or his employe’s acts, and thereby« 
legally accepts, by putting into constant use, a thing 
before it has been thoroughly tested to ascertain 
whether up to the pontract or not. This usually j 
comes from putting off ordering an engine, boiler, or ] 
whatever is needed, until the necessities of the easel 
require it, and then being obliged to use it without 
giving the maker time to properly demonstrate that ; 
he has fulfilled his contract. 

If under these circumstances the purchaser is dis-j 
satisfied and refuses to settle, and is beaten in a law- 1 
suit, he loses all faith in guarantees and becomes 
afraid to try anything that he was not “ born and 
brought up with,” and looks upon everything that is ; 
brought to his attention for the first time as a hum¬ 
bug, or at least an experiment, no matter if it has 
been in successful use by others for many years, and 
is the very best thing for his purpose. 

“Actions speak plainer than words,” and it is the rule 


Making and. Using Steam. 


45 


of law that “ The receipt of goods becomes accept¬ 
ance, if the right of rejection is not exercised within a 
reasonable time, or if anything be done by the buyer 
that he would have no right to do unless he were the 
owner of the goods.’’ (N. Y. Reports, 115, p. 547.) 

Therefore it is not safe for the proprietor of a steam 
plant to receive anything on trial under guarantees, 
unless he and his employees have nothing to do with 
it, but leave the entire control and management of it 
to the seller until he has fully demonstrated that the 
terms of his contract have been fulfilled. 

The habitual carelessness of purchasers in this re¬ 
spect, in disregarding the requirements of law and 
common sense, have made it safe for salesmen and 
contractors to offer unreasonable guarantees, and for 
the manufacturers of inferior articles to unfairly com¬ 
pete, in selling their products, with those of better 
grades, and make it very difficult to determine how 
to invest money to the best advantage, and be certain 
of obtaining that which is expected. 

Were manufacturers and their agents held to a 
strict compliance with their guarantees, it would be a 
comparatively easy matter for purchasers to decide 
what was best in every instance for their particular 
purpose. 

It would also sustain and encourage honesty and 
integrity in manufacturers to feel that their efforts to 
produce the best in their line were appreciated and re¬ 
warded by deserved success in a financial point of view. 





46 


Making and Using Steam. 

A distinguished French manufacturer once said to 
the writer: “You Americans buy labels instead of 
goods.” 


CONVENIENT rULes, tables, aNd facts. 


To ASCERTAIN THE NOMINAL H. P. OF A BOILER 
in actual use, provide a couple of barrels, or larger; 
casks if convenient, and place one upon a platform 
scale elevated above the other, with suitable pipe con¬ 
nection, and valve to drain the upper into the lower, ; 
then fill the upper one from a pipe having a water' 
meter in it as a check to detect any mistake that may \ 
occur in the weighing, then connect the lower barrel ; 
with the feed-pump, and the apparatus is ready. Try , 
it to see that everything works right, and after the 
water has run from the upper into the lower barrel,, 
balance the scale by adding weights to counterbalance 
the barrel and what water remains; this will save the 
trouble of deducting tare every time. Provide a suit¬ 
able steam thermometer and place the stem in the ; 
feed-pipe where it enters the boiler; also, provide 
a steam jet, as described previously under head of 
boilers. 

At the beginning of a test, note the reading of the 
water-meter, the steam gauge, the height of water in 
the water gauge, and time of day. 

During a test weigh carefully all of the water enter- 




47 


Making and Using Steam. 

ing the boiler, and every hour, or half hour, compare 
the weight with the register of the water-meter in 
cubic feet, reduced to pounds by multiplying by 62^2, 
which should very nearly agree if no mistake is made. 

Also note the reading of the thermometer and 
steam gauge every hour, or half-hour, and continually 
watch the steam jet, and if wet steam is shown, the 
fireman should instantly check his fire and be very 
careful not to overheat the boiler again. 

Before closing the test, be sure the height of water 
in the gauge is the same as at the beginning. Having 
thus ascertained the amount of water the boiler will 
evaporate in a given number of hours, divide it by 
the number of hours, then to find what this hourly 
evaporation would have been, had the feed-water 
been put into the boiler at boiling point (212 0 F.), 
take the average actual temperature as shown by the 
thermometer, subtract it from 212, and multiply the 
difference by .00104. The decimal resulting from 
this will be the fraction that must be added to every 
pound of water which the boiler evaporated ; conse¬ 
quently, by multiplying the actual hourly amount by 
this fraction and adding the product, we have the 
hourly capacity of the boiler without pressure, or with 
the steam gauge at o. But as the boiler must also be 
credited with the extra work of making steam under 
pressure, the average reading of the gauge during the 
test will be found (approximately) in the following 
table, and under it the decimal fraction to be added 


48 


Making and Using Steam . 


to the amount already ascertained; consequently, by 
multiplying by that fraction and adding the product, 
we have the total hourly capacity of the boiler, which 
being divided by 30, gives the H. P. of general prac¬ 
tice, or by 34 y 2 , for Centennial Standard H. P. 


Pressure by Gauge__ __. 

5 , 

10, 

15, 

20, 

25. 

30 , 

Fraction to add - 

.005, 

.008, 

.012, 

• 015, 

.017, 

.019, 


Pressure by Gauge, 

35 . 

40 , 

45 . 

50 , 

55,1 

60, 

65 , 

70, 

75 

80, 

Fraction to add, 

.021, 

.023, 

.025. 

.027, 

.028, 

.030, 

.031. 

•033, 

• 034 , 

• 035 , 


Pressure by Guage__ 

85 . 

90, 

95 , 

100, 

no, 

120, 

130, 

140, 

150, 

Fraction to add. _ _ 

’.036, 

• 037 , 

.038, 

.039, 

.041, 

• 043,1 

• 045 . 

.047, 

•049, 


By this process, the proprietor or superintendent 
of a plant, with an assistant to attend to the weigh¬ 
ing, may once a month, or as often as convenient, 
ascertain the amount of steam used, and by requiring 
the fireman to weigh all the fuel used during the test, 
and deducting the ashes and refuse, the number of 
pounds of water per pound of combustible will be 
shown, and the relative economy in producing steam 
ascertained on dividing the number of pounds of 
water by the net weight of coal. 

Then, at the same time, if the engineer has an indi¬ 
cator, and is qualified to measure the I. H. P. of the 
engine, or an expert is employed to do so, the num¬ 
ber of pounds of steam per I. H. P. per hour the 
engine is using will be shown, and the relative econo¬ 
my in the use of the steam may be ascertained. The 













































49 


Making and Using Steam. 

proprietor can then judge if improvements are needed, 
and in what part of his plant they will pay best. 

By devoting a day or two occasionally to an inves¬ 
tigation of this kind, the proprietor or manager of 
any works will generally find his time well spent, and a 
greater saving will be made than in any other direction. 

The importance of utilizing waste heat for heating 
the feed-water of boilers, is shown by the following 
table, giving the per cent, of saving in fuel by raising 
the temperature from the natural or initial tempera¬ 
tures given in the left-hand column, to those given at 
the head of the other columns as fed to boiler. 

PER CENT. OF FUEL SAVED BY HEATING FEED-WATER 
WHEN CARRYING 80 LBS. BOILER PRESSURE. 


-r 

3 


t> 



Temperature, as Fed to Boilers, in Degrees Fahrenheit. 


rt p. ^ 



100 

110 

120 

130 

UO 

150 

160 

170 

180 

190 

200 

212 

32 ° 

5-76 

6 61 

7.46 

8.31 

9.16 

10.02 

10.87 

ri. 72 

12.58 

1343 

14.29 

15 32 

35 ° 

5 5 i 

6.36 

7.21 

8 06 

8.92 

9 76 

10.61 

11 47 

12.32 

1318 

14.04 

15-07 

40 ° 

5-09 

5-94 

6.79 

7 64 

8.50 

b 34 

10.19 

11.05 

11.90 

12.76 

13 62 

14 64 

45 ° 

4.66 

5 - 5 i 

6.36 

7.22 

8.08 

8 92 

9-77 

10.62 

11.48 

12.33 

13.20 

14.22 

50 ° 

4.24 

5.09 

5-94 

6.80 

7.66 

8.50 

9-35 

10.20 

11.06 

IT.91 

12.77 

13-80 

55 ° 

3 81 

4 67 

5-52 

6-37 

7 22 

8.07 

8.92 

9-77 

10 63 

11.48 

12.33 

13.37 

■6o° 

3 39 

4.24 

5.09 

5-94 

6.80 

7-65 

8.50 

9-35 

[0.20 

II.05 

11.91 

12.95 

“65° 

2.97 

3.82 

4.67 

5 - 52 - 

6 37 

7 22 

8.07 

8.92 

9-77 

IO.64 

11.49 

12.52 

70° 

2-54 

3-39 

4.24 

5.09 

5 94 

6.80 

7-65 

8 50 

9 35 

10.21 

11.07 

12.10 

75 ° 

2.12 

2-97 

3.82 

4.67 

5-52 

6.37 

7.22 

8.07 

8.93 

9.78 

10.63 

11.67 

-80° 

1.69 

2 54 

3-39 

4.24 

509 

5-97 

6.80 

7-65 

8.50 

9 36 

10.22 

11.25 

85° 

1.27 

2 12 

2 97 

3 82 

4.67 

5-52 

6.38 

7-23 

8 09 

8.94 

9.80 

T0.83 

90° 

.85 

T.70 

- 2.55 

34 i 

4 25 

5.10 

5 95 

6.81 

7.66 

8.52 

9-37 

10.40 

95 ° 

.42 

1.27 

2.12 

2 97 

3.82 

4.67 

5-53 

638 

7.24 

8.09 

8-95 

9.98 

JOO° 

.00 

.85 

1 70 

2 55 

3.40 

4-25 

5 -H 

5 96 

6.82 

7.67 

8-53 

9-56 


The following table, which is the average result of 
several carefully conducted experiments by the author 
and others, gives, 























50 


Making and Using Steam. 


The weight of Oxygen and quantity of air required for perfect 
Combustion , of various Combustibles j also the temperature and 
heat units produced, and the evaporative effect in making steam 
that is possible with the most perfect apparatus. 



TJ 

C 

3 

T 3 

C 

P 

O 

"d 



<u 

V 

35 

0 

T 3 

J^°<N 

O N 

cally 

from 


O 

ft 

ft 

• a 

p 

rC 

rP 

33 

P 

P 

‘5 rtij 

O O. 



V 

a 

0 

a 


£*c 3 


O 

a 

S-g-g 

D 5 rfl 

Is 

Kind of Pure Com¬ 
bustible. 

Net Weight, 

§ oJ 

ss 

x in 
O 2 

0 

0 . 

<0 HJ 

rt .3 

3 

<u 

a 

as v 
o| 

10 <— 
<3 0 

°1 
<L> O 

ij e 

V U-> 
<£ ° 
m-i a 

0 p 

<u 

0 £ 

V 3 
u 0 

a 

’cJJ 

pjp 

.3 « a 

«.gl 

water 

to evapo 


0 S 

° S ' 

II 

B £ 

B « 

2 S. 

2 6 
crj rt 

cS 2 

<D 3 

<4- 3 

O rt 3 
0 0 

0 „ - 


■Su 

c, 

0 0 

|cj 

§0 

0 B 
^ CJ 

It 

<U JZS 

a p 
§.§ 

V ai 

si 

V *-> 

t g 

rt 0 

30 

XS ft ^ 
3 > W 
O « 0- 

§ 0 a 
§ ftrt 


ft 

ft 

O 

H 

E-i 

H 

H 

ft 

ft 

Hydrogen, 

8.0 

36.0 

478 

5750 

2870 

1940 

62032 

64.2 

60. 

Carburet. Hydrogen, 

4.0 

17-5 

239 

3180 

1590 

1050 

23510 

24.4 

22. 

Carbon, producing < 
Carbonic Acid Gas, f 

2.66 

12. r 

x 59 

4580 

2440 

1650 

14500 

15 O 

13.S 

Carbon, producing j 
Carbonic Oxide, f 

1-33 

6 0 

76 

1 This effect is with ) 
s one-half the [ 

( proper air. ) 

4452 

4-6 

4 . 0 - 

Petroleum Oil, 

4.10 

16.5 

216 

5100 

3000 

1850 

26000 

26.4 

21-5 

Coal — good quality / 
anthracite, f 

2.66 

12.1 J 

160 

4580 

2500 

1650 

14500 

150 

13 8- 

Coal — good quality ) 
bituminous, j 

2.46 

1 

11.8 

152 

SMC 

2680 

1810 

15800 

16.0 

I 4 -S 

Coke — fine. 

2.62 

12.0 

159 

4850 

2540 

1720 

15IOO 

15-5 

14 0 

Lignite, _ 

2.15 

9 5 

122 

4600 

2490 

1670 

11 745 

12.2 

n .4 

Asphalt,_ _ 

2.75 

11.87 

155 

4800 

2650 

1840 

16500 

I 7 .I 

15.8 

Peat—kiln dried, 

1 75 

7-5 

98 

4470 

2420 

1660 

9650 

IO.O 

9-5 

Wood—kiln dried,_ 

1 60 

6.2 

87 

4080 

2260 

1530 

7245 

7-5 

7.a 


The following table exhibits the advantage of in¬ 
vesting money in real improvements. For example,, 
if one engine, boiler, or piece of steam enginery will 
cost $600.00 more than another, but will save $100.00 
a year in fuel, or cost of running it, we find 100 in 
the left-hand column, and at the right in the column 
headed $600, we find that it will pay 16^ per cent. 









































Making and Using Steam. 51 

per annum on the difference in price, or extra invest¬ 
ment required to secure the best. 


vr ONCn AU to h =§©= 

OOOOOOO OOvr OsLn ^ Oo to to h 
OOOOOOOOOOOOOCnOOCn 

Amount Saved 
per Year. 

vr Oscn 40. u to h 

OOOOOOO 00 vr OsCn to to h 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOCnOOCn 

> 

Z 

Z 

c! 

> 

f 

•n 

M 

V 

0 

M 

z 

H 

> 

a 

P 3 

> 

as 

w 

0 

ta 

►< 

H 

Z 

M 

z 

< 

fcq 

cn 

H 

§ 

w 

z 

H 

O 

►q 

0 

W 

& 

M 

z 

0 

w 

as 

0 

0 

cn 

H 

€©■ 

O 

O 

b 

H 

b 

b 

b 

w 

b 

% 

Q 

b 

H 

Q 

0 

ffl 

i 4 

Oo U to to N H 

On O Cn O tn O Oi 4^ Oo Coo to to w m hh 
OOOOOOOOCnOCnOCntoOCnto 

0 0 b 0 0 0 0 b b b b 0 0 t/i b b oi 

= 0 © 

to 

O 

O 

tO tO hH M hH 

Go O OsGo 0 OsGo to tO NO M I-. M 

Co O OsGo 0 OsGo OnGo O OnOo O 00 OnGo m 

Go O On Go O On Go On Go O On Go O Go On Go On 

O O Os Go ' Os Go O OnGo O Go OnGo On 

Go 

O 

O 

vrcntoOvrCntotOM — h >- 

Cn OCn O Cn O Cn 0 M Ot to O vr ONCn to m 

O O O O O O O O Cn O Cn O Cn to O Cn to 
OOOOOOOOOOOOO Cn O O Cn 

m 

4 ^ 

O 

O 

I.OO 

2.00 

4.00 

5.00 

6.00 

8.00 

10.00 

12.00 

14.00 

16.00 

20.00 

40.00 

60.00 

80.00 

100.00 

120.00 

140.00 

60 

cn 

O 

O 

t-t O 00 ONCn Go m >— 1 m 1—1 

On O Go Os O Go OsGo w O 00 CJsC-n. 4^ Go h 

Cn O Go CN O Go OsGo OsOGo ON O mGo Os CO 

O O Go Os O Go OsGo Os O Go Os O OsGo O On 

€©= 

Os 

O 

O 

O 00 vr in 41 » h m h 

O Cn w vr to OC 4 ^ p-h O 00 vr Cn 4^ Go to h 

O vr 4^ m Oo Cn to 4^ OCn 1-1 vr to Cn 00 -£». -v 

O — O 4 > tn M OOvr O vr 4 ^ OOvr Cn to w 

€©= 

vr 

O 

O 

00 'VI ONCn Go W h h 

vj ui tj O MCn to O Oovr ONCn Go Go to m 

Cn O bi O Cn O Cn O vi Cn to O vr 11 cn to Os 
OOOOOOOOCnOCnOCntoOCnto 

00 

0 

0 

vr OsCn ^ Go to h 

vr OsCn 4 s Go to h 00 vr OsCn 4^ Go to to h 

ONCn 4 s Go to h oovr OsCn 4 s Go M to w Cn 

vr On O O Go to 1— Oovr ONCn -ts Go vr to w Cn 

NO 

0 

0 

vr ONCn 40s Go to h 

OOOOOOO CO vr ONCn 4 s g to to h 

obooboobooooocnbocn 

00000000000000000 

m 

0 

0 

0 

ONCn 4s Go to h 

Go 4 s cn Os vi 00 NO vr ONCn 41 00 to to h 

ONCn 4c Go to m O to Go 4 s Cn CN vr tso 00 NO 4 ^ 
OOOOOONOvr OsCn 4^ Go to vr 1-1 O Cn 

m 

0 

0 

Cn Cn 40s. Go to m 

OO O h Go 4 s Os CO vr ONCn 4 s Go to to m 

Go O ON Go O OsGo Cn Go O h Go Cn O Os CO 4 ^ 

Go O Cn Go no OsGo O Go O OsGo O m On Go m 

€©■ 

to 

O 

O 












































52 


Making and Using Steam. 


brief items op useful information. 


Anthracite coal, broken, a cubic foot averages 54 
lbs., and a ton, loose, occupies from 40 to 43 cubic 
feet. 

Bituminous coal, broken, a cubic foot averages 49 
lbs., and a ton, loose, occupies from 43 to 48 cubic 
• feet. 

A cord of dry hickory or hard maple, weighs about 
4,500 lbs., and is equal to a ton of coal for making 
steam. 

A cord of dry pine weighs about a ton, and is equal 
to nearly half its weight iq coal for making steam. 

Of the average of wood, about 2 ]/ 2 times the weight 
of good coal is required to make the same amount of 
steam. 

Of petroleum oil, about 125 gallons equals a ton of 
coal in making steam. 

A cubic inch of water evaporated at 212 0 , is con¬ 
verted into nearly a cubic foot of steam ; that is, it 
expands nearly 1728 times. 

Of steam, 26.37 cubic feet weigh 1 lb., and of air, 
13.81, so that exhaust steam is only one-half the 
weight of the air on entering it. 

For every degree (!Fahrenheit) above 32 0 , brass 







53 


Making and Using Steam . 

pipe will lengthen about .000127 °f an inch to the 
foot, and wrought-iron pipe about .000084 of an inch. 


Sensible Heat of Steam, Shown by Thermometer. 


5 lbs. 

by steam 

gauge, 

228° 

60 lbs. 

by steam gauge, 

307-5' 

10 “ 

4 4 i t 

< 4 

240.1 ° 

70 “ 

ii ii it 

316.1' 

20 “ 

it ii 

4 i 

259-8° 

80 “ 

44 44 4k 

324.1 

30 “ 

ii 4 4 

4 < 

274-4° 

90 “ 

4 i i * 4 4 

33I-3' 

40 “ 

it ii 

4 4 

287.i° 

IOO “ 

4 4 4 4 4 4 

338° 

50 “ 

H ii 

i t 

298° 

125 “ 

4 4 44 4 4 

352.8 


Diameter, Area and Gallons of Cylinders—One Foot Depth or 

Length. 


Diam. 

Circum. 

Area. 

Galls. 

5 inches. 

15.708 in. 

19 635 sq. in. 

1.021 

6 

18.849 “ 

28.274 “ 

1.470 

8 

25.132 “ 

50.265 “ 

2 614 

10 “ 

31.416 “ 

78.540 “ 

4.084 

12 “ 

37.699 “ 

II3.097 “ 

5.873 

5 feet. 

15 ft. 8^ in. 

19.635 sq. ft. 

146.838 

10 “ 

31 “ 5 

78.540 

587-353 

20 “ 

62 “ gg 8 “ 

314.160 “ 

2439 414 

25 “ 

00 

490.875 

3672 . 

30 “ 

94 “ 2^ “ 

706.86 ‘‘ 

5287.201 


Doubling the diameter of cylinders increases the area and contents to four 
times the amount. 

The U. S. Standard gallon contains 231 cubic inches of fresh water, and 
weighs 83*3 lbs. 

A cubic foot of water contains 7.48 gallons, and weighs 62^ lbs. 





54 


Making and Using Steam. 


Effect of Heat Upon Various Bodies. 


Blood (human), heat of - 

98 ° 

Cast-iron melts, 

- 

2210 

Common fire—coal, 

- i 790 ° 

Brass “ 

- 

1650' 

Glass melts, 

- 2377 0 

Wrought-iron melts, - 

- 

2822' 

Copper “ 

- 2548°; 

Zinc “ ‘ * 

- 

782' 

Gold “ 

- 2156° 

Lead 

- 

625' 

Silver “ 

- 1830° 

Water boils, 

- 

212' 

Antimony melts, - 

- 812° 

Mercury boils, - 

- 

662' 

Tin 

- 475 ° 

Water freezes. 

32 ° 


Aluminum “ 

700° 

Mercury freezes, 

39 ° 

below. 

Steel “ 

- 2500° 

Greatest artificial cold, 

166° 

< 










iNdex. 


A. 

PAGE 

■“Actions speak plainer than words ... . .. 44 

Alarms, automatic__ 31 

Arrangement of parts__ 12 

Architects, custom of in locating plants_-___ 13 

Attachments to boilers_ 31 

Average consumption of fuel- 7 

Automatic devices_ 31 

“ damper regulator- 13 

cost of- 24 

B. 

Babbitt metal_ 39 

Bearings, best metal for- 39 

Boilers---_ _ 14 

“ automatic feeding devices- 31 

“ blowing off-- - 21 

“ check valve in steam pipe- 12 

44 cleaning of- 22 

44 corrosion, or pitting of - 22 

44 compounds..- 30 

44 duplicate- 12 

44 damper regulators for—- 13 

“ durability of- 15 

“ economy of- 16 

44 evaporating duty of different types —- 21 

44 forcing of---- 20 


55 





























56 Index. 

PAGE 

Boilers furnaces and fuelsfor_ - - 22 

“ feed-water and apparatus... 26 

“ government standard of safety—.—- 15 

“ heating surface of —- i& 

“ horse power of--—--- —. 19 

“ pressure guages for--—•-- 31 

“ Porcupine type of- 17 

“ room uncomfortable and unhealthy- 13 

“ recording guages---— 32: 

“ rule for testing.-- ----46 

“ skimmers for_ 30 

“ safety of- 14 

u testing of- 19 


C. 


Check valve in steam pipe ---— 12 

Chemical compounds_ 30 

Coal, loss by exposure-—___ ir 

Combustion, perfect and imperfect_ 25 

air required for perfect__ 50 

table of different fuels- 50 

Contracts and guarantees- 43 

Contracts and guarantees, laws concerning__ 45 

Cylinder oil, the best_ 37 

“ the profits on —_ 38 


D. 


Dampers and regulators__ 13 

“ price of governors___ 24 

Distilled water, value of_ 11 

Draughts, how maintained_____ 16 

Duplicate engines, boilers, etc____ 12 






























Index. 


57 


E. 

page 

Employment of mechanical engineers___ 7 

Experience and value thereof_ 9 

Exhaust steam in creating vacuum_ 10 

Exhaust steam, use of__.__ 26 

“ for heating buildings.--._ 11 

Engines, duplicate _ 12 

“ friction clutch- -- 13 

Engines, in general__ 32 

“ high and low speed__ 33 

“ compound- 33 

triple expansion--- 33 

“ horse power of- 34 

** economy of-..._34 

amount of steam required per H. P_ 35 

“ non-condensing, power increased by vacuum__ 15 

* 4 connected with heating plants —- 36 

“ construction of------ --- —37 

“ best method of lubricating- 38 

Engineers and firemen---- 40 

should be machinists - 42 

by certificate--— ---43 


F. 

Facts, tables and rules-- -— .... 46 

Feed-water and apparatus- 26 

“ temperature of- 27 

“ heating and purifying--- 28 

“ fuel saved by heating- 49 

Fires, regulation of- - 24 

Fireman, wages of- 40 

“ difference in good and bad- 41 

Firing, advantages of skill in-- 25 

Fuels, combustion, table of---- 50 


































58 Index. 

PAGE 

Fuels, difference in value of----- 24 

“ oil and gas as-----t-.---- 25 

“ waste of in firing--'-, - 25 

Friction clutches- 13 

Furnaces and fuels----22 

“ smokeless-- 23 

G. 

Grates, in general- 22 

“ shaking or movable-----— 23 

Gauges, pressure and recording-- 31 

Guarantees and contracts---- -- 44 

H. 

Heat, economizers of in flues____— 30 

“ how absorbed- 18 

. u latent and sensible-^-_____ 19 

“ of combustion- 16 

Heaters, feed-water __ .... _ 27 

Heating surface_ 18 

Holly system of piping streets___ it 

Horse power of boilers_*.__ r8 

“ of engines_ 34 

“ rules for ascertaining___ 46 

I. 

Introduction__ 6 

Indicator cards__ 34 

Indicated horse power of engines__•___. 44 

Information, brief items_ 52 

J. 

Journals, lubrication of___ 39 

L. 

Location of plants_ 10 

Lubricants and lubricators_ 37 






























Index. 


59 

PAGE 

Rubricating, best method of_ 38 

with plumbago_ 39 

Labels instead of goods”_ 56 


M. 

Mechanical stokers_ 23 

Mechanical engineers- 7 

Mistakes, cost of correcting-. _ 8 

Money, saving, by experts_ 9 

Minerals in water- 29 


O. 

Oils, cylinder- 37 

“ prices of- 38 

P. 

Preface-- 3 

Progress of steam engineering- 6 

"“Penny wise and pound foolish”- 8 

Porcupine type of boilers- 17 

Plumbago for lubricating- 39 

Purchasing under guarantees- 44 

Purchasing on trial- 45 

Purchasers, responsibility of- 1 — ---- 45 

R. 

Recommendations, value of ...- 5 

Reconstruction of plants, saving thereby-- 8 

Railroad facilities- 11 

Rules, tables and facts- 46 

Recording guages.-- 3 2 

S. 

Scale, composition of- 2 9 

11 prevention of- 11 



























6o 


Index. 


PAGE 


Separators---- 3 2 

Skimmers, etc.--.- 3 1 

Smokeless furnaces-- 23. 

Steam, mean effective pressure---- 34 - 

“ required per H. P. of engines-- 35 

“ how to test quality-- 21 

“ wet, dry and super heated- 20* 

Steam plants, method of testing- 46 

“ “ location of-- 10 

“ “ arrangement of- 12: 

T. 

Testimonials, value of__ —- 5 

Temperature of feed-water- 27 

Tables, convenient--- 46 

Table, fuel saved by heating feed-water- 49 

“ combustion of fuels- 50- 

“ earnings of improvements_ 50* 

“ sensible heat of steam at different pressures--_ 53, 

“ properties of cylinders- 53 

“ effect of heat on various bodies._ 54. 

V. 

Vacuum, explained___ 35 

effect of_ 36 

water required for__ 36 

W. 

Water works_____ ir 

Water evaporated per lb. of coal_ 21 

“ for boilers-.- 26 

“ impurities of_ 3^ 

“ heaters and purifiers__ 27 

‘‘ oily in boilers_ _ 2 & 






























ADVERTISEMENTS. 


In order to make this little work more useful to proprietors 
of Steam Plants, the publishers have decided to append adver¬ 
tisements of such apparatus as the author has found by careful 
investigation to be the best yet invented, all things considered, 
for the purposes for which they are intended. 

The manufacturers here represented have won for them¬ 
selves honorable reputations for fair dealing, and purchasers 
are assured of satisfaction. 











































• • 















- 









I 











































*' 









•* 




































PATENTED IN THE UNITED STATES AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 


THE HAZELTON BOILER. 


THE HANDIEST, SAFEST AND MOST ECONOMICAL BOILER. 




TRADE-MARKS. 


All Genuine Hazelton or 
Porcupine Boilers bear 
our 'Three Registered 
1 rade Marks. 


Beware of Imitations 


The Porcupine Boiler 


The Highest Standard of Excellence. 


THREE 

REGISTERED 

The Hazelton Boiler. 


THE HAZELTON BOILER CO. 


MANUFACTURERS AND SOLE PROPRIETORS. 


General Office, 716 East 13th St. I wrTtvTr VAU TT TT o A 
Works, AveD. and 13th Street, § f Jlj W JL vlfvJnLy U • 

This Company is prepared to furnish Plants of Boilers of any capacity ; solicits inspec¬ 
tion of those now in operation and will forward proposals and other information on application. 

Catalogues containing full information sent free to those contemplating the purchase of 
Steam Plants , on application to the Company , or to 

°°3it n cd! nce THE ROCHESTER ENGINEERING CO., 321 & 323 Powers Block, Rochester, N. Y 









































THE IIPHOYED WHEELOCK EHG-IHE 



This cut shows the peculiar improvements in design that have 
made the Wheelock superior to all other engines for reliable, 
steady and economical power, together with the greatest dura¬ 
bility and ease of adjustment and management. The steam 
enters the cylinder from underneath through peculiar, simple 
and accessible valves, which, together with the exhaust valves 
adjoining, may be quickly removed, seat and all , for the purposes 
of adjustment or repairs. 

Full information, illustrated catalogue, prices and terms given by 

THE ROCHESTER ENGINEERING CO., 321 & 323 Powers Block, Rochester, N. Y. 










(dHOWN above, is the oldest of the high speed single valve 
' engines that is yet in the market, the first having been built 
in 1872. The aim from the organization of the Company in 
1880, has been to build the best engine of its class and to put 
upon it the best workmanship the present state of the art in this 
country can produce. No attempt is made to supply the world, 
or to compete with other engines in prices. The money, others 
spend in advertising is in this case put upon the engine itself, 
and this alone ought to secure for the purchaser a better return 
for his money, than where the workmanship is slighted to save 
money to pay for selling. The company rely upon the excellence 
of the machine for their reputation and on the reputation of the 
engine to secure sales. The simplicity, perfection of details 
and governing are unequaled. The sizes vary from 25 to 125 
H. P. Those of 100 H. P. and above, being double valve engines, 
giving the highest economy for a single cylinder engine. Two- 
thirds of all engines sold during the last two years, are used for 
driving dynamos. Between four and five hundred in use. 

Further information and prices given by 
THE ROCHESTER ENGINEERING C0. 7 321 & 323 Powers Block, Rochester, N. Y. 


THE STRAIGHT LINE ENGINE 


5 





Railway’s Improved Feed Water Heater. 


The advantages of this Heater over all others is the Simplicity 
and Strength of Design, together with the,greatest 
possible efficiency. 





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Not Only the Best but the Least Elxpensiv/e. 

A RARE COMBINATION. 


0. L, K AD WAY, Manufacturer, 136 Liberty Street, NEW YOKE. 

For further information and prices, apply to 

THE ROCHESTER ENGINEERING CO., 321 & 323 Powers Block, Rochester, N.Y. 











































© GOULDS © 

GEARED TRIPLEX BOILER FEED PDMP 

FOE HIGH OR LOW PRESSURE SERVICE, 


Fig. 924. 



* EFFICIENCY of PUMPING systems. 


Description of Application. 

Cost per H. P. per Hour. 

Injectors, Inspirators, Etc.,. 

Pulsometers or Vacuum Pumps,. 

Small Steam Pumps, for ordinary use,. 

Large Steam Pumps, proportioned for the work, . 

Power Pump, driven by Engine,. 

Power Pump, driven by Water Wheel,. 

Power Pump, driven by Steam and Water combined, 

ioo lbs. Coal. 

67 lbs. Coal. 

25 lbs. Coal. 

13 lbs. Coal. 

Coal used by Engine, 2 to 4 lbs. 
Cost of maintaining Water Power. 
Average above cost. 


* Deducted from the report of Chas. E. Emery, Ph. D., in the “ Report and Awards, 
Group XX., U. S. Centennial Exposition,” and arranged for ready comparison. 


Our 66 Improved System of Heal Saving, Roller Feeding 
and Damper Regulation offers Mill Owners enormous 

returns in fuel saving. 

Special “No. 18 Mill Catalogues” and “Applications of Improved Power Pumps,” free. 

THE GOULDS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 

Factory: Warehouse: 

18-28 Ovid St., SENECA FALLS, N.Y., U. S.A. 16 Murray Street, NEW YORK. 














































































Reducing 

Yalves. 


Damper 

Regulators. 



Pump 

Governors. 

Balanced 

Yalves. 


Of the best quality are manufactured by the Mason 
Regulator Co., Boston. 


“fl l^ey to Ej)<§ii?eeriQ<£ ” 

Is the title of a book of about ninety pages, which every En¬ 
gineer should have. It is written by one of the best 
authorities in this country as a text book for 
his class in engineering. There are 
no advertisements in the book, 
and it is bound in leather¬ 
ette. Price, by mail, 
postpaid, 30 cents. 

Stamps taken. 

Full information, net prices and terms furnished by 

THE ROCHESTER ENGINEERING CO, 

321 & 323 Powers Block, Rochester, N. Y. 








Wheeler Condenser i Engineering Company 

Works, at Carteret, N. J. Offices, 92 & 94 Liberty St., New York. 


PROPRIETORS AND MANUFACTURERS OF 

Fred k Meriam Wheeler’s Patent Surface Condensers. 

For Stationary and Marine Engines, &c. 

LIGHT WEIGHT JET AND SURFACE CONDENSERS, for Steam Yachts, Torpedo 

Boats, &c., and other Specialties. 


SUCCESSORS TO AND PROPRIETORS OF 


"THE! COLWELL IRON WORKS 

Machinery for SUGAR PLANTATIONS AND REFINERIES, CHEMICAL WORKS, 
SALT MAKERS AND OTHERS, Vacuum Pans, Double and Triple Effects, &c. 
Iron and Brass Castings for the Trade. Heavy Machinery a Specialty. 


© 



Surface Condenser with Air and Circulating Pumps Combined, 


© 

§ £ 
14 


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This apparatus, attached to an Engine, will increase its power from 25 to 
50 per cent, without additional expense in making steam, and where 
bad water causes scale to form in boilers, the water of condensation may be 
used to great advantage in preventing scale and thereby saving fuel. 


Further information, prices, guarantees, etc., given by 


THE ROCHESTER ENGINEERING CO., 

321 & 323 Powers Block, 


ROCHESTER, N. Y. 






















f\ p\o$t Valuable I/r\prouemer?t to fidopt. 

THE HUSSEY AUTOMATIC WATER HEATER 

-FOR- 

Utilizing Waste, Heat in flues, by heating Cold Water to 
the Boiling Point, and thereby Saving a 
Large Portion of the Fuel. 


Especially valuable in plants without engines and where exhaust steam 
is used for other purposes than heating feed water, and in connection with 
condensing engines. Water from hot wells raised ttn.250 0 . 

Tie Hussey Re-Heater and Steam Plant Improvement Company, 

15 Cortlandt Street, NEWYORK. 

Full information, prices and guarantees given by 

THE ROCHESTER ENGINEERING CO,, 321 & 323 Powers Biock, ROCHESTER, N.Y 




















































































































Exhaust Steam Re-Heated to Boiler Temperature 

By Waste Heat in flues, Without Cost, and thereby saving from 20 to 60 per 

cent, in heating buildings. 



IN THE WELLES BUILDING, l8 BkUADWAY, N. Y. 

The cuts show a HUSSEY RE-HEATER in position, and illustrate 
various methods of applying it to different steam plants. 



SUPER-HEATED STEAM, for Boiling, Drying, Evaporating, Etc . 

The Hussey Re-Heater and Steam Plant Improvement Co., 

Full explanation, prices and guarantees given by 15 Cortlandt St., New York. 

THE ROCHESTER ENGINEERING CO,, 321 &323 Powers Block, Rochester, N.Y. 



















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Ualue. 


o— the: —o 


J^ussey Bae^ pressure 



T HIS VALVE has been desigiied especially to meet the widely felt require¬ 
ment for a sensitive and reliable Back Pressure Valve for low pressures, 
capable of being set for fractions of a pound, and of uniform and regular 
action under all conditions. 


It is simple in construction and not liable to get out of order. 

It acts without Lever or Weights. 

It works without any clatter, or noise or hammering action. 

It is compact, convenient, easily adjusted and neat in appearance. 

It occupies less space than any other Back Pressure Valve in the 
market, and can he placed and operated in either a vertical or hori¬ 
zontal position. 

Manufactured in all the requisite sizes by 

THE HUSSEY RE-HEATER ANB STEAM PLANT IMPROVEMENT CO, 

IS Cortlandt Street, NEW YORK. 

For Sale by THE ROCHESTER ENGINEERING COMPANY, 

321 & 323 Powers Block, Rochester, N. Y. 









































































L. J. WING COMPANY. 

OFFICES : 

126 Liberty Street, New York. 94 Pearl Street, Boston. 

96 Lake Street, Chicago. 45 N. 7th Street, Philadelphia. 

MANUFACTURERS OF 

WING’S DISC FANS, 

High Speed Engines, Electric Motors, 

Gas Engines, Etc . 

For Heating, Ventilating, Cooling, Drying and Removing 
Dust, Steam, Smoke, Etc. 



^/HEN required, these Engines are placed on the fan frame and shaft, 
and are practically a part of the fan, being neat, compact and light, 
will run with very little care, thus making them desirable for places where 
parties have steam but no engine, or wish to place the fan at some isolated 
spot, or for running at night when the large engine is shut down. Very con¬ 
venient and cheap for night drying in factories, or for heating buildings. 

These Fans have received the highest awards at American and Foreign 
Exhibitions, after full competitive trials by expert engineers, which proves 
conclusively their superiority over all others. Full reports and other informa¬ 
tion, with prices, guarantees, etc., given by 

THE ROCHESTER ENGINEERING CO., 

321 & 323 Powers Block, Rochester, N.Y, 






REGAN GAS ENGINES 

OR GASOLINE VAPOR ENGINES. 

SIMPLE, DURABLE, ECONOMICAL. HUNDREDS IN USE. 

PRICES ONE-HaLF OF OTHER GOOD gas ENGINES. 


Sets anywhere Without the Least Danger of Fire or 
Explosion and No Damage from Leaks or Drips. 



The Gas or Vapor is Ignited by an Electric Spark in 
the Cylinder, and No Odor Escapes. 

Electric Eight at ];css post -’Phan Qas 

Using this Engine for Power. 

Plants furnished at low cost and results guaranteed. Call and see our 
exhibit. Pumping outfits for city and country. Carburettor furnished for 
running Engine with Gasoline Fluid without extra charge. 

- LOCAL AGENTS WANTED. - 

L. J. WING CO., 126 Liberty Street, New York, 

Agents Eastern States. 

Further information, net prices, e\c., given by 

The Rochester Engineering Co., 321 & 323 Powers Block, Rochester, N. Y. 


















If) LL o to 


Barriett Electric Motors and Dynamos. 


HIGHEST EFFICIENCY. BEST MATERIAL AND WORK¬ 
MANSHIP. LOW SPEED. 


MAGNETIC OILER 

Will run for months without refilling. 


WE GUARANTEE 

Constant Speed under Variable Loads and no Sparking, 


For ISOLATED LIGHTING these Dynamos are PARTICULARLY 
"VALUABLE, as they require but little attention and care. 

Send for Catalogues and further particulars. 


L. J. WING CO., Sole Selling Agents, 


Full information and prices given by 

Tie Koclester Engineering Co„ 

321 & 323 Powers Block, 

ROCHESTER, N. Y. 


126 Liberty Street, Hew York. 
96 Lake Street, Chicago. 

94 Pearl Street, Boston. 

45 N. 7th Street, Philadelphia. 


.FOR DRIVING 














No. 612— K. 


Office of 

EXPERIMENTAL BOARD, 

NAVY YARD, NEW YORK, 

February i^th, 1890. 

COLGAN MFG. CO. 

234 West St., New York. 

Rear-Admiral D. L. Braine, U. S. N., Commanding Naval Station, New York: 

Sir We have respectfully to report, that in accordance with the endorse¬ 
ment on the letter of the Bureau of Steam Engineering - , dated July 10th, 1889, 
and numbered 1964 J. J., we have tested the Lubricating - Balls made by the Colgan 
Manufacturing - Co., by using them for the internal lubrication of the Machine- 
shop Engine of this Yard, during all the working days since the 24th of Decem¬ 
ber last, until the 15th of the present month, or forty-five days. For the first five 
days, four balls per day were used; in the next ten, three per day; and since 
then, only two per day. They were fed to the steam chest, a quarter of a ball at 
at time, through a common grease cup, having a cock below it and covered with 
a screwed cap. These balls are put up for transportation in wooden boxes that 
hold a gross each, the outside dimensions being ten inches by ten, by seven and a 
quarter inches deep. They are, therefore, easy to handle and to stow and care 
for on shipboard. Each ball is wrapped in tissue paper, to prevent adhesion 
under moderately high temperature. They liquefy at about 110 F. They have 
no objectionable odor, either in the solid or liquid state. 

We have the assurance of the Manufacturer, in which he expresses a willing¬ 
ness to support by affidavit, that they contain neither animal nor vegetable mat¬ 
ter. They are sold at five dollars per gross. 

On the 16th instant, the interiors of the cylinder, valve chest, and heater into 
which the engine exhausts, were examined. All the wearing surfaces were found 
in excellent condition, bright, smooth and clean. 

Nowhere in the cylinder or chest was there any accumulation of grease or 
dirt. The heater had not been cleaned for a long time, but there was no appear¬ 
ance of recent deposits of grease. The anti-frictional value of this lubricant 
could not be established by this method of test, but, to the unaided senses, the 
appearances were in its favor. It would seem, therefore, that, at a cost of less 
than seven cents for an eight-hour day, the internal wearing surfaces of a twen¬ 
ty-inch cylinder, including a main and cut-off valve (both slides), the piston of 
Avliich, actuated by steam of an initial pressure of forty pounds, had a speed of 
about 540 feet per minute, were well and efficiently lubricated for the time of the 
test. 

We, therefore, respectfully recommend these Lubricating Balls for purchase 
and use in vessels of the Navy wherever they are required. 

Yours Respectfully, CHARLES H. LORING, 

Chief Engineer and Member of the Board. 

J. J. BARRY, 

P. A. Engineer and Member. 

Commandant’s Office. Navy Yard, { W. D. WEAVER, 

New York, Feb. 25th, 1890. f Asst. Engineer and Member. 

Approved and forwarded to Bureau of Steam Engineering. 

D. L. BRAINE, Rear-Admiral, Commandant. 

For Sale by THE ROCHESTER ENGINEERING co„ 321 and 323 Powers BlocK, Roclester, U.Y. 







The only reliable Safety Play in the World 
for Renewable Fusible Metal Caps, 

Highly recommended by U. S. Su¬ 
pervising Inspector of Vessels, Wash¬ 
ington, D. C., Professor Thurston, 
and many others. 

Write for a catalogue and price list. 

Just introduced here. 150,000 sold 
in Europe. 

Geo. Van Wagenen, 

SOLE MAKER. 

W. H. BAILEY, Patentee. 

Manufacturer of Lasher’s and Jones’ 

Patent Piston Rings, Mercurial Sy¬ 
phon Gauges. Also, dealer in Engi¬ 
neers’ Tools, Stores and Ship Chand¬ 
lery. 

Telephone, Cortlandt kill. 

Agent for Edwin A. Hayes; ENGINEERS’ EXAMINATION BOOK. The 
■questions asked applicants applying for Marine and Stationary Engineers’ license papers, 
when before the inspectors, with the correct answers to same. Price, $2.00. Sent postpaid 
■on receipt of price. Also sale store for Hayes’ Boiler Pipe Coverings and U. S. 
Regulation Life Rafts. 

Full particulars and prices given on application to 

THE ROCHESTER ENGINEERING CO., 321 & 323 Powers Block, Rochester, N. Y. 




Acme Oil Company, 

SYRACUSE, N. Y. 

Manufacturers of the Lowest Priced First-Class 

Cylinder and Engine Oils 

Known to the Trade. 

Correspondence solicited. Please mention this 
Advertisement. 































































common sense iN bUYiNg aNd seLLiNc. 


THE ROCHESTER ENGINEERING COMPANY 

Have nearly completed a Library, containing the Illustrated Catalogues, 
Circulars and Price Lists of all the different makers of articles of Steam 
Enginery, Steam Apparatus and Appliances. 

This literature is systematically arranged and indexed for ready 
reference and an expert mechanical engineer will always be in attendance 
to explain from drawings the operation of each device, its advantages, 
and disadvantages, and from long and varied experience he will be able to- 
give valuable information and advice that will enable buyers to judge for 
themselves what will be likely to give them the best satisfaction in each 
particular case. Buyers may in this way obtain in one brief visit more cor¬ 
rect information regarding the different makes of Boilers, Engines, Heat¬ 
ers, Pumps, etc., etc., than they could ever obtain from salesmen directly- 
representing individual makers. We would also give, or obtain for buyers 
every maker’s bottom price and best terms and guarantees, thus enabling 
them to at once receive the benefit of the whole range of competition 
and save much time and vexation in deciding what is best to do. 

The cost of maintaining commercial travelers will average eight or ten 
dollars per day, and it is estimated that it costs manufacturers, to sell their 
products, at least one-third of the price obtained, which, of course, comes, 
out of the buyers’ pockets. 

To sell through our agency, costs but a trifle in comparison, and the 
buyer gets the benefit of the saving. 

If more convenient for buyers, we will meet them by appointment at 
their places of business with all catalogues and prices of the articles they 
wish to purchase. 

Contracts and Guarantees written and their performance looked 
after, so as to avoid misunderstanding and unpleasantness between 
buyer and seller. 

In short, we aim to effect sales at the least possible expense to both 
buyer and seller, and see that satisfaction is had in every case. 


Office , 3&1 cltlcL 3&3 Sotmct's Slock:, 

ROCHESTER, N. Y. 

W. H. Bailey, Pres. & Gen'l Mgr. M. H. Sternbergh, Sec'y dr 5 Treas . 
























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